Photo By Jefferson Wolfe | The 7th Civil Support Command Chaplain Lt. Col. Brian Harki speaks during a Good...... read more read more
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DAENNER KASERNE, KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany -- An Army Reserve chaplain was one of seven who gathered Good Friday to talk about that seven last words of Jesus Christ.
Chaplain Lt. Col. Brian Harki, the 7th Civil Support Command chaplain, spoke Friday evening at Daenner Chapel. He highlighted the quote “I thirst,” which Christ said while on the cross before being given a sponge full of vinegar by Roman Soldiers.
“For me, it shows the humanness of Jesus,” Harki said.
It also ties into his message that his followers will never have to be thirsty again, he said.
“For me, it resonated a lot about who Jesus is,” he added.
All seven chaplains got to pick which quote they wanted to speak about, said Chaplain Lt. Col. Randall Thomas, the deputy garrison chaplain for U.S. Army Garrison Rhineland-Pfalz and the senior pastor at Daenner Chapel.
The program was something Thomas continued from the previous year. He hopes it will help those who attended to look introspectively about the events of Good Friday, Christ’s selflessness and what the day means to Christians.
“All his words were never about him himself,” Thomas said. “They were all about everyone else.”
The seven last quotes are consistent across various versions of the Bible, Harki said. As explained by the chaplains, they include:
“Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
“I tell you the truth. Today, you will meet me in paradise.”
“Do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves.”
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
“I thirst.”
“It is finished.”
“Father, into Your Hands I commit my spirit.”
Each chaplain spoke for about five minutes on a phrase during the program.
“The preachers were excellent,” Thomas said.
Harki got involved with the program because, in addition to his other duties as the 7th CSC command chaplain, he is one of the pastors at the Daenner Chapel. The chapel is located on the same barracks as the 7th CSC headquarters, just a few buildings away.
It is very unique for an Active Guard Reserve chaplain to have the opportunity to be a pastor, Harki said. Some Soldiers from the 7th CSC units on Daenner Kaserne attend his services on Sundays during Battle Assembly.
“It really serves the Soldiers as much as it serves anybody else,” he said.
Since his arrival in Germany in July, Harki has been able to integrate seamlessly with the active duty chaplains in the Kaiserslautern Military Community.
“There are no lines of division between the active and reserve chaplains here,” he said.
Chaplain Col. Scott Hammond, the command chaplain for the 21st Theater Sustainment Command also was one of the speakers during the event. The 21st TSC is the active duty higher headquarters for the 7th CSC.
In addition to working regularly with the 7th CSC ministry team, Hammond has worked with Army reserve chaplains and chaplain assistant during deployments.
The reserve chaplains face different challenges than their active duty counterparts, he said. Many are full-time pastors in civilian churches who bring great expertise to Soldiers.
“Reserve chaplains bring a lot of great tools to help care for the sheep,” Hammond said.
| Date Taken: | 04.03.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 04.03.2015 14:46 |
| Story ID: | 159102 |
| Location: | KAISERSLAUTERN, RP, DE |
| Web Views: | 229 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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